Superstars
by Facon de Parler
Summary: If you want to be a star, go meet a Hyuuga.
1. Introduction & Chapter 01

I did not own Gakuen Alice.

This is my second fanfiction, please read & review!

I have read several books written in another language about the entertainment industries.  
I was inspired by some of the ideas, and I would like to try making an English fanfiction for Gakuen Alice.

Warning: characters slightly OOC!

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**Superstars**

**Introduction**

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_–_

_If you want to be a star, go meet a Hyuuga._

This was a popular saying for the past few years. Since the establishment of the Hyuuga Entertainment Limited, it had been the cradle of a number of remarkable superstars. It was an icon of success; a miracle in the entertainment industry. The five Hyuuga siblings were being called the "golden managers".

The siblings's father was a famous singer, whereas their mother was a well-known actress. Being inherited with their genes, all of them had appealing appearances and temperament. Yet, none of them followed their parents' career paths. Rather, they were interested to work "behind the scene" to discover and nurture potential artistes. As a matter of fact, the young Hyuugas were not willing to be a puppet controlled by someone else; besides, they enjoyed being in charge of others more. They aimed to be the dream makers.

Their retired parents were travelling around the world, while the five siblings stayed in Japan to manage the company. Five of them worked to their best to establish their own wonderland by creating their perfect idols.

This story was about the five siblings and the superstars they managed. Here were their information when the story began:

1. Hyuuga Misaki  
Gender: Female  
Age: 27  
Appearance: 5'7", pinkish red hair and eyes  
Personality: (seemingly?) bold, upbeat, independent

2. Hyuuga Natsume  
Gender: Male  
Age: 25  
Appearance: 6', raven short hair, ruby eyes  
Personality: (seemingly?) cold-hearted, sharp, determined, cautious, pragmatic

3. Hyuuga Koko  
Gender: Male  
Age: 24  
Appearance: 5'11", blonde hair, grayish blue eyes  
Personality: (seemingly?) outgoing, cheerful, care-free

4. Hyuuga Hotaru  
Gender: Female  
Age: 23  
Appearance: 5'7", raven short hair, amethyst eyes  
Personality: (seemingly?) intelligent, rational, serene, could become very persistent when found something interesting to her

5. Hyuuga Youichi  
Gender: Male  
Age: 21  
Appearance: 6'2", brown hair, grayish blue eyes  
Personality: (seemingly?) quiet, indifferent, smart

May I remind you once again:

_If you want to be a star, go meet a Hyuuga._

_–_

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_– –_

_– – – –_

_– – – – – –_

_– – – –_

– –

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**Superstars**

**Chapter 1  
**

_This chapter was dedicated to __**DappleSora**__ and __**Lady Drama**__  
for __being the first two reviewers for my story!_

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_–_

_–_ _Four years ago –_

_–_

The end of each year was a super busy time for the music industry. It was a time for award ceremonies and subsequent celebration parties. Hyuuga Natsume swiftly left the party room and walked to a quiet garden that was located behind the building. He impatiently loosened his tie. He had a strong desire to breathe in some fresh air before he had to do the socializing again.

Suddenly, a soft charming voice found its way to Natsume's ear. Natsume stopped immediately. Someone was singing somewhere. He closed his eyes, using all his concentration to figure out where the voice came from. As if being hypnotized, he walked towards the origin of the sound without second thought.

As he reached a pond, he saw a fairy-like figure sitting on a huge rock at the opposite side of the pond. That was no doubt that the melody came from her. Natsume hurriedly walked along the pond, trying to get closer to the fairy. He stopped at the position where he was now at a diagonal to the fairy. This was the perfect location to listen to her and have a good view of her.

The fairy was a girl wearing a white sleeveless dress. Her amber long hair that was wavy at its tips shone under the moonlight. She was a very young stunner. Her innocent amber eyes were shining like stars. She playfully swung her long smooth legs front and forth, while singing the song.

She looked attentively at the moon and did not realize someone had already entered her world. She blissfully displayed an angelic smile. She was conscientiously singing a widely known love song which was too mature for her age, My Heart Will Go On.

_You're here, there's nothing I fear_

_And I know that my heart will go on_

Her enchanting singing casted a stupefied spells on Natsume. He stared at the girl without a blink. Her voice was very gentle and lovable, and her vocal abilities were excellent. Most importantly, she was amazingly expressive in the song.

Natsume could not help suspecting how much this girl understood the song. How much could a young girl know about love? However, from the way she was so involved in her song, it was apparent that she did love singing a lot.

The initial mood of frustration and boredom disappeared. Natsume felt peaceful and captivated by the girl's song. Was it the girl's voice that calmed him down, or was it the girl's charisma that captured him? Natsume did not know any of these. What he knew was he wanted her.

She was definitely a diamond in the rough. She could absolutely become the shiniest superstar after his assiduous craving.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

The ending of the song was followed by a long loud applause. The girl turned her head in thrill and saw a gorgeous man standing near the pond. Not only was she surprised, she got red in her face and got lost into the man's enigmatic red pupil. Natsume and the girl gazed at each other. One second felt like a decade long.

"Mikan... Mikan..."

A distant calling sound broke the magical spell between them. Natsume restored his mind, but before he could say anything, Sakura Mikan had already put her feets into the high heels, stood up, slightly patted her dress, beamed at Natsume and then ran to the source of the call. Watching the disappearance of the white-dress-fairy in front of his eyes, Natsume had a miserable feeling.

"Mikan! Where did you hide yourself? I was about to introduce some composer and lyrics writers to you," A bluish-hair girl gently helped to fix Mikan's slightly messy hair.

"I am sorry, Nobara-san," Mikan lightheartedly stuck her tongue out, and turned her head to the direction of the pond, but she could see no one. Was the handsome man she just saw an illusion only?

Sakura Mikan?! She was the sixteen-year-old female singer who just won the Award of the Most Promising Singer?

Natsume hid himself in the bush, regretting such a precious gemstone being taken by the earlier bird Ibaragi Nobara. No matter how he desperately wanted this singer, he would never grab things from his friends.

What a pity!! Natsume looked up to the sky. Mikan's voice and her eye-catching figure were still lingering in his mind.

Since then, it was Natsume's habit to pay attention to the news of Sakura Mikan. It had lasted for four years continuously. He probably did not notice he had such a habit.

_–_

– _Now –_

_–_

"Koko, have you heard about the news? _She_ is coming back," Hyuuga Misaki said in a dull tone, unlike her usual energetic nature, and she looked pale.

"Yes," Hyuuga Koko replied bleakly. The joker did not wear his usual smile as well.

"_She_ declared clearly that _she_ wants you to be responsible for her work during her stay," Misaki continued with her monotonous tone.

"Hn," that was an _extremely_ rare single-syllabus reply made by Koko.

Something was wrong with these two siblings. They were the two members in the family who could easily bring in a lively and relaxed atmosphere.

"I am going out now, and I won't be back tonight, please let the others know," Misaki's boring voice was heard again.

"Hn," My God! It was the second single-syllabus reply made by Koko for the day.

After Misaki left, Koko went to another room. It was a room desolated for some time already. He walked to the wardrobe, opened it, and stared at a cute huge teddy bear that sat lonely inside.

"Your owner is coming back," Koko muttered. His face was expressionless, and there was no joy in his words, there was only heaviness. Koko silently left the room. His receding figure, same as the teddy bear, was lonely and gloomy.

_–_

– – – – – –

_–_

Hurried walking steps were heard in the corridor, followed by a loud door opening sound, "Bang". A pair of naked bodies was lying on bed, and two pairs of eyes looked at the intruder with astonishment.

The pink-hair girl who just entered the room was dumbfounded as well. She could not believe what she saw, and she leaned against the door to make her body steady. She managed to wear a composed facade to hide the overwhelming emotions inside her.

The dark-hair man on bed had his mind returned; he looked at the intruder at the door with lament, remorse followed by hopelessness. The girl next to the man had tears over her face, wrapped herself with the blanket and apologized to the pink-hair girl. She sounded very guilty and she even kneeled down and begged for forgiveness.

The girl remained unsympathetic throughout. There was not even a trace of sadness or anger that a victim should have. She looked indifferently at the girl who was crying and begging.

She was once a best friend of hers, and now she had become so distant and unfamiliar.

The man had already dressed up and helped the kneeling girl to stand up. He gently hugged the girl and looked at the other girl who he loved but betrayed.

The stare lasted for some time. The man did not say anything, nor did the unresponsive girl. The emotionless expression from the man stabbed at her heart like a sharp knife.

The pink-hair girl used to be a daring person; she would use her eloquence or Karate whenever she faced injustice. But now, she opened her mouth wide but could not say anything. She could only watch the man helping to soothe the crying girl. She abruptly turned away to leave the scene of eyesore.

A sobbing girl's voice was heard from behind, "I am sorry, Misaki."

All of a sudden, Misaki woke up, sweating, her throat feeling dry and sour, and her chest feeling pressurized. She planned to take a short nap at home before dinner, and turned out she had that nightmare again.

That was enough.

It had been seven years! Were seven years still not enough for her to forget the tragic past and recover from the hurt resulting from betrayal? She desperately needed to do something to give vent to her pent-up feelings. After meeting Koko at the house and telling him the news, she left the house for her own good.

–

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I hope all five managers will have their own stories… & I definitely welcome suggestions!!

to **DappleSora**: Kitsune… ummmm… maybe I will have him as one of the main supporting role (?) I m not sure yet…

to **Lady Drama**: Mikan has appeared already, as for when she will become connected to the Hyuuga's, you will have to wait =P

**Please review!!!**


	2. Chapter 02

I did not own Gakuen Alice

Warning: characters may be slightly OOC

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**Superstars**

**Chapter 2**

_This chapter was dedicated to **DappleSora** & **sapphireangel09**, thanks __for __your review!_

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–

Freezing breeze kept hitting the jacket. The sound of wind and the engine noise formed a symphony that gave an indescribable feeling of weightlessness, empowerment and contentment. This was a four-lane driveway around a small mountain; the winding roads were excellent for people who enjoyed driving. With a brake, everything stopped, and a figure stepped out of the vehicle. Taking off the helmet, the person held it in hand, and walked across the road, leaving the motorcycle at the roadside. Dim lights that shone on the road revealed a feminine figure with bright-pink hair.

Reaching the opposite side of the road, she stood behind the fence and looked down from the height. A marvelous night view of a city was under her feet. Some distant sounds of racing cars were heard, but they did not ruin the tranquility. She closed the eyes to feel the current of air beating the face and body. With her long hair dancing lively in the air, she could feel a combination of exhilaration and freedom.

Yet, the noises got louder and louder. Some racers were probably rallying in this driveway and they were coming nearer. But who cared. They came and they left. The woman remained at the same position and took pleasure in what was seen and felt, until a loud crash was heard.

BANG!

She swung around and saw the motorcycle lied flat on the grass land dozens of feet away from its original spot. That position was indeed occupied by a Honda NSX.

"Holy crap!!! My V-Rod Muscle!"

The motorcycle owner immediately rushed to the poor vehicle to check its damage. An orange-hair man came out of the Honda NSX and started yelling, "What the heck! Why did you stop the motorcycle here?"

What the! How come the one hitting others yelled before the victim did.

Before the victim said anything, few more cars stopped by the side. Some cars were modified ones for speeding. All drivers came out of their cars and approached the party involved.

"What's going on?" said by one of the car owners.

"This bitch stopped her motorcycle on the roadside, blocking the road." The man continued his accusation.

The woman looked at the men surrounding her with disdain. Judging from their exaggerated way of dressing, they were probably a gang of hooligans. It seemed there was no room for negotiation. She calmly took out her cell-phone and started recoding. All the men were dumbfounded. It took them few seconds before they realized what she was doing. The orange-hair man marched forward to block the lens, "What are you doing? Stop! Don't record!"

The woman rapidly stepped backward and immediately recorded her voice coolly, "The time is now a quarter to two in the morning, and this is the Chestnut Hill Driveway. I stopped a silvery 2009 Harley-Davidson V-Rod Muscle at the roadside, and then a red Honda NSX hit its back…"

"Hey! Stop! If not, huh, don't blame us!" The orange-hair man glared angrily at the woman, showing her his clenched fist.

"This is the driver of the Honda NSX, he is now threatening me." The woman fearlessly moved the cell-phone in front of the man to video-tape his face, and she continued calmly, "Since you are the one hitting me, you should be responsible for my compensation."

"What?! You dare to ask me to pay? You want to die early, don't you?" The orange-hair man wrinkled up his nose scornfully.

"Then, let's call the police," replied the woman confidently.

Another long-wavy-hair man tried to stop her at once, "Don't think that we won't beat you up just because you are a woman." He approached her, planning to take the cell-phone away from her. The woman secretly prepared to defend herself with karate.

However, this was interrupted by a dark-hair man, "Don't be rude to ladies."

The angry long-wavy-hair man immediately became obedient, "Yes." And he retreated.

The short-hair man inspected the scene for a while. The red car was stopping outside the road, and the motorcycle lying on the grassland in front. There were braking marks behind the car, but none for the motorcycle. He made a decision, and said to the woman, "Miss, this is our fault, and we will pay for the repair of your motorcycle."

"What?! Tsu-" the dark-hair man raised his hand to cut short the orange-hair man.

"If we are compensating, is it okay if we don't call the police?" the dark-hair man asked.

The woman remained silent, and the dark-hair man took her silence as not-rejecting. He picked up his cell-phone and called, "Uncle Sam, I am sorry for calling this late, um… I just had a car accident, would you please come to Chestnut Hill Driveway? By the way, please call a cab to come here as well…"

All of them remained silent while they were waiting. The dark-hair man glanced at the bold woman, who rode a stylish motorcycle. With the cars' headlight, he realized that she was wearing leather boot and jacket, and she had a shocking hair color, pink. Maybe she was belonged to one of the gangs.

"Miss, may I have your name please?" He asked politely.

She hesitated a moment, and replied, "Misaki."

Within ten minutes, a middle-aged man wearing a suit came to take care of the incident. He gave a name card to Misaki. She looked at it, and saw he was from a company that owned a number of recognized pubs in the country. It did not take long for the cab to come and drive her home.

After watching Misaki's departure, the dark-hair man smiled and murmured to himself, "Misaki, what a beautiful name for a strong lady."

–

– – – – – –

–

Let's move the clock to several hours before Misaki's accident.

While Misaki was enjoying her ride on her motorcycle, another female member of the Hyuuga's family was wandering aimlessly on the street in the Shibuya area of the Tokyo city.

It was Hotaru's custom to walk on the street when she finished her jobs. Unlike Misaki and Natsume who were good at discovering talented singers, she had more expertise or instinct in spotting out beauty that had high potentials. Even though she had a number of models or actresses in hand, she was not too satisfied with the ones she was managing now.

Well, they were all popular and successful enough to make a good living and superb earning reports for her. However, if you asked Hotaru to rate them, she would give a 70 out of 100 at most. No matter how one portrayed them, it was the lack of an inborn allure that caused them not "overwhelming" enough to rock the world. Therefore it was her ambition to discover someone who had potential to be worth 100 in her eyes.

This night was not a successful one again. Being raised in the Hyuuga family, whenever she was at home, she had the privilege to look at attractive people, her siblings. On the other hand, this so-called benefit was the reason why she became very demanding about a person's appearance and disposition.

Hotaru was about to take a cab home, when she saw something shiny at the edge of her eyes. Someone had once asked her how she decided if a person had potentials to be a star, nevertheless, her answer was difficult to understand or imagine. She said she could see some "gold pieces" on the person that made them reflect light like gold. (Can you visualize what she was saying? I personally don't.) After seeing something shiny, she hopped out of the cab at once, and traced the shining source.

That was incredible.

In her eyes, she saw a golden statue walking on the street. "Oh my God!" She heard the exclamation in her head. She instantaneously followed the golden figure.

Using the eyes or ordinary people, the figure Hotaru saw was indeed belonged to a tall lady with shiny long blonde hair. Despite the fact that she was wearing low-heel shoes, she was at least 6' tall. She did not have a huge breast, but her overall body shape was impressive. She was wearing a skirt that exhibited her long slender legs.

The most appealing feature of this lady was her face. She wore a pretty heavy make-up, but unbelievably, one would not think that she was flirtatious. Rather, one would sense a feeling of innocence from her. In addition, Hotaru was confident that the lady was not covering any blemishes of hers. Hotaru even had a hunch that the lady was masking something better behind the cosmetics. Hotaru admitted to herself that this did not sound logical at all, but that was her intuition. That was why she was going to meet this lady by all means.

Hotaru followed the lady into a skyscraper. The lady went into an elevator, and it was too late for Hotaru to catch the lift. She could only watch the elevator moving away from her with pity. Using the television screen that showed the cabinet inside the lift, she figured out the lady's destination was the 18th floor. While she was waiting for the lift, she looked at the directory on the wall to see what kind of place that floor was…

**The Metropolitan Club of the Tokyo City**

…

…

…

–

– – – – – –

–

It was 8 a.m., Natsume was working in his office, dealing with the administrative work. Natsume worked as a manager as well as an executive. He was able to manage both because he had few artistes under his management. It was Natsume's philosophy to focus on quality over quantity. He actually had contracts with two artistes only. One of them was his father, who was enjoying his "endless" vacation with his wife now. The other one was a well-established singer. He decided to take a "break" after holding a regional tour of concerts. He was planning to open a restaurant, and no one knew when he would return to the stage again.

Everyone wondered how come the five siblings could know how to be managers in such a young age. Since they were young, they had been following their parents to learn about the entertainment industry. In fact, the Hyuuga Entertainment Limited was established seven years ago, the very first job for the company was to organize the farewell concerts for their father, as well as his regional tours around Asia. Under the supervision of their father's manager, i.e. their aunt, Natsume was the core coordinator in that job, and the four siblings helped along. It was when they further developed their networking. Their father's performance before "retirement" was a tremendous success; the Hyuuga siblings established good reputations.

Back to the present, Natsume worked diligently in his office. Administrative work included the preparation of quarter and annual reports for the company, monitoring the expenses, handling documentary work etc. Being the one in charge of the company, Natsume was (obviously) not the one doing the real work, he was the one supervising. He had more to do in deciding the development of the company. The work was tedious, but he rather did this than spend time catering artistes who did not meet his standards. While he was looking for potential new stars, he was involved in the expansion of the corporation.

The Hyuuga Entertainment Limited was first formed as a company offering managers' service. The fundamental job for such managers was to think of strategies to advertise the artiste to the public effectively. The technical details of their jobs included: organizing the schedules and handling relations with co-workers on behalf of the artistes; as well as negotiating salaries and striving for artiste's benefits with cooperative partners. For example, if the artiste was an actor, the manager mainly needed to work on schedules and salaries negotiation with movie or drama producers. If the artiste was a singer, the manager would have to deal with music companies about many aspects, such as the singer's image, the production and release of CDs, the distribution of profits etc. Apart from all this, whenever the artistes were involved in scandals, the managers had to think of ways to protect the artistes. Outside work, it would be helpful if the managers and the artistes had good relations between each other.

Last year, he decided to found a Music Production branch and an Image Design branch for the Hyuuga Entertainment Limited. Both branches were developed well. Three months ago, they started to provide assistance to the company's contractual artistes, and offer services to external parties.

So far so good, things went on well. Natsume laid back on his chair for relaxation, when an image of an amber-hair girl tiptoed its way into his mind…

–

– – – – – –

–

Sakura Mikan had a five-year contract with the Boom Limited. After the release of her first album, her fresh image of the girl next door won popularity easily, especially among teenagers. She received the Award of the Most Promising Singer in the very first year she started her singing career. Continuing with the trend, the company wanted to consolidate her pop idol position among the young. Many songs that were suitable for the karaoke were designed for her. These songs had melodies that were less complicated and lyrics that matched up with the mentality of the adolescents. An album was released in the second year and it sold well.

However, things started going downhill in the following year. Her third album had reduced sales. She faced a fierce competition by a newcomer, Koizumi Luna. Luna was a dance-oriented singer who also targeted to the teenagers' market. She came from a rich family, which allowed her to have overwhelming advertisements everywhere, on top of the amazing choreography and marvelous clothes in MTVs and shows. Luna became very popular right away.

Mikan had no album released in the subsequent year; only a single was put into the market, and its sale was beaten down by Luna's. The Boom Limited started to let Mikan have more engagement in advertisements, soap dramas and TV shows to maintain her fame. Besides, the company strongly encouraged Mikan to change from being the girl next door to one with a raunchier image. After all, Mikan was more a singer than an actress, and she wanted to have more time and flexibility in music. Moreover, Mikan was highly resentful of the new image idea.

Last year, things became even more troublesome. The discussion of the contract renewal with the Boom Limited began, but the attempt was in vain. Due to the failures to meet an agreement on idol image and time allocation for music production, Mikan's manager, Nobara, started to contact other companies for contracts. This resulted in Mikan's abandonment by the Boom Limited. Her album preparation was stopped abruptly.

Worse still, three months ago, before a new contract was settled, scandals that **Sakura Mikan was dating Nendo Ryoga**, a pop star who had lots of fan girls, started to spread. Mikan's popularity dropped tremendously. There was accusation that she was pretentious, and she was flirty in nature so that Nendo Ryoga dated her. Many companies started to hesitate whether Mikan's joining would be to their advantages.

_"Maybe it's a time to change her image and musical style, but no one knows if the change will be successful... Her current fans may not accept her change..."_

_"Her popularity has gone down a lot, maybe there is no turning back anymore..."_

_"Koizumi Luna was dominating the market for the young, Sakura Mikan had low chance to beat Luna. The investment on Mikan may not pay off..."_

_"It was rumored that she was dating Nendo Ryoga, the famous girl-magnet. Having such scandal was never a good thing for a pop star..."_

While Nobara continued her job to find a reasonable contract for Mikan's singing career, a new worry came about. All of a sudden, Nobara had her personal matter, which made her plan to end her career as a manager. This meant that she would have to leave Mikan alone.

Nobara discovered Mikan in a singing contest at Mikan's school. Mikan's singing impressed Nobara so much that she decided to help fulfilling Mikan's dream as a singer. That time, the Boom Limited was willing to spend money to build up a new star, therefore Mikan had her debut via the company. Nobara did not want to sacrifice her personal life, but Mikan was a sister to her, and she wanted to make sure that Mikan was well taken care of after she left her.

Suddenly, a thought came to her mind.

–

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It took some time to describe the background & setting...

I appreciate your patience...

Next chapter, Natsume & Mikan will meet each other again...

**Please review!**


	3. Chapter 03

I did not own Gakuen Alice

Warning: characters may be slightly OOC

* * *

**Superstars**

**Chapter 3**

_This chapter was dedicated to **chrisca123456789**, thanks for your review!  
This chapter will tell you the answer._

* * *

–

Morning sunlight tenderly slipped through the half-closed blinds and entered a large office. There was an extraordinarily big office desk in front of the gigantic window. Piles of documents were orderly packed and placed in a rack situated on one side of the desk. A desktop was located on the other side, and a laptop was placed in the middle. The laptop user was a raven-hair man, sitting on a black leather high-back executive office chair. His red eyes were focusing on the computer while his ears were listening to the reports made by a man with long dark hair.

"I met Koizumi-san yesterday as requested. He's very interested in our company, and he stated plainly that he wanted his daughter to be our contractual singer," the one who did the talking was Tonouchi Akira, a major executive officer in the Hyuuga Entertainment Limited. He was one of the most important colleagues that helped Natsume with the administrative work. He was nicknamed "Tono" by everyone who worked with him.

Seeing Natsume with his usual pokerfaced look, Tono continued, "Koizumi-san said that if his daughter joined us, he would sponsor any advertisement and music production related to her under one and only one condition."

Natsume still appeared to be indifferent. Tono was used to Natsume's coldness, so he simply moved on, "The only requirement he asked was," Tono paused a while, "You have to be his daughter's manager."

No change in facial expression was seen and no reply was heard again. Natsume kept on typing in his laptop. Tono knew that Natsume was listening while he was working. It was a routine that Tono did almost all the talking when the two of them had a meeting. Natsume would normally give responses at the very end. That was why it was Tono speaking again, "I have to say, Koizumi-san has great sincerity to work with us. The condition he requested was acceptable considering his willingness to sponsor everything related to his daughter. Besides, you're not taking care of any artiste at the moment; you probably have time to be a manager for a singer. I can manage the administrative work as usual, so you don't have to worry about the company."

Tono took a brief breath and went on, "Regarding to the artiste herself, Koizumi Luna was a rising star. The sale of her albums was very satisfactory, and she did have soaring popularity. To be honest, whether all this was real achievement was always obscure. This kind of doubts arose for other artistes coming from rich families as well. I am not good at judging the potentials of artistes. That's your expertise, isn't it?"

No one would ever doubt the power of money. "Sponsoring" might also include vast buying of albums, or hiring fans to reinforce the fame. Tono carried on with his analysis, "Our company did not need any financial support for the time being. But of course, no one will mind having more money, right? It's never guaranteed if we will gain a lot from signing Luna's contract, but I am pretty sure that we won't lose anything."

There was another pause, and Tono's voice was heard one more time, "So, my conclusion is, it is up to you whether you want to take up the manager's job for Koizumi Luna. If yes, I can settle most things ahead for you if you want to. If no, you'd better think of a good excuse and deal with it yourself."

Tono was good at evaluating situations about the pros and cons of different decisions. He was not concise enough in Natsume's eyes, but still tolerable. Long years of cooperation made them good partners for each other. Tono suspected that Koizumi's motive was to give Luna a chance to get close to Natsume. He remembered that Luna showed keen interest in Natsume in a party some time ago. It was nothing special actually, since Natsume was being named the hottest bachelor in the country. He was rich, proficient and handsome. There was a saying that if he were an entertainer, all girls' hearts would be his. Tono could not understand why girls would fall for an expressionless man like Natsume. Oh, by the way, Natsume's smile was claimed to be worth millions. It was rumored that some rich women offered that amount of money just to have him smile at her.

Silence between Tono and Natsume remained in the office. Tono routinely asked for the last time, "So, what's your decision?"

Natsume looked at his watch, stood up and said lazily, "I am meeting someone in ten minutes, see you."

Meeting someone? What the? There was no business conference today, and Natsume normally would not have any private meeting during business hours. In general, he would ask Tono to take care of those. It was notorious that Natsume would avoid socializing whenever he could. Tono wondered who was the person Natsume was going to meet. But anyways, Natsume's answer also meant that he would deal with Luna's case himself.

–

– – – – – –

–

Before following Natsume to see his guest, the narrator was distracted by loud crazy screams coming from the other edge of the city.

Tons of people were obstructing the pathways and looking at the terminal exit frantically. It seemed that some important people were expected to arrive at the airport. When one saw people holding banners, flowers, presents, and pushing each other to ensure a favorable position, one could deduce that celebrities were the eagerly awaited targets. Security guards worked very hard to maintain the order of these fans, to ensure that they stood behind the fences.

When the gate opened, two figures stood out among their accompaniment. Right away, there were flashes here and there, and squeals everywhere. The two centers of attention moved slowly, walking past the crowd with their hands waving and smiles on their faces. They were obviously acclimated to this kind of circumstances. Fans were crushing each other in order to get a closer view of their favorite stars and to stuff presents into their idols' hands.

Few members of the press were allowed to approach the celebrities, who stopped for a while to allow photo-taking. Reporters started to ask questions.

"Sumire-san, you haven't come back to Japan for five years, do you miss your fans here?"

"Of course I do," the female celebrity having short dark-green hair with curly tips replied politely.

Reporters then started to throw loads of questions to her.

"Do you plan to stay in Japan for future career development?"

"What are you expecting from the first cooperation with Director Narumi?"

"Rumors say that you and Kitsuneme-san are in a relationship?"

Sumire and the wolfy-eye celebrity looked at each other. Both of them remained silent and wore a sly smile. Sumire's assistant, who was standing next to them, said warmly to the reporters, "Thank you for paying attention to Sumire. We're having a press conference tomorrow, and they will answer all your questions that time. Please come!"

A reporter insisted to ask an extra question right away, "Sumire-san, apart from filming, have you got any other plans?"

Sumire, who was in high spirit, turned her head to the video camera and said with assurance, "Besides my work, the main reason I come back to Japan is to _take back what I deserve_!"

With such, she proudly left the crowd with Kitsuneme in her arms, leaving the people behind in awe.

–

– – – – – –

–

Few miles away from the Hyuuga Entertainment Limited office, an interesting sight could be seen. A handsome young man with brown hair was sitting in an outdoor coffee shop. His hand was holding a video camera, and his grayish blue eyes were staring at something. (The narrator was going from the airport to Natsume's location, but unfortunately got sidetracked again.)

Looking intently at something was no big deal; what matter was the person who was doing that. It was the youngest Hyuuga. He was known as another indifferent member in the family, comparable to the infamous Natsume. Following Hyuuga Youichi's gaze, two girls were walking on the opposite side of the street. What caught Youichi's attention was the tall slender girl with dark hair and red eyes. She did not wear any make-up or anything fancy. In fact, her clothes could be described as ragged if one was mean in choosing descriptive adjectives. Her appearance was above average but not drop-dead appealing. The only outstanding feature in her was her height; she was almost six feet tall.

Yet, Youichi found her eye-catching. He did not understand why he had such feelings. Maybe it was about her height? Maybe it was about her shabby outlook? Maybe it was about the way she moved? He failed to figure out the exact reason. (If he were Hotaru, he would probably say something like he saw gold pieces sticking on this girl. Thank God, his eyes were ordinary ones.) All he knew was he felt an urge to present his manager's name-card to a person for the first time in his life. He would like to invite her to be a model.

He immediately left the coffee shop and walked towards the girls. He searched his pockets to find his name-cards, but he could find none. Oh no, he had left the cards in another jacket. Maybe he could make friends with her first? Youichi found it awkward to strike up a conversation with a stranger, because he had never done so. (As you might have guessed, he was usually the one being struck up.) However, he did not want to let go of this girl who grabbed his attention.

Similar to Natsume, Youichi did not manage many artistes. Actually, he had only one, and it was his mother. He was fond of video-taping and searching for people who had distinctive charm of their own. He was aware of the fact that some people who looked beautiful might not look as good in photographs or videos, and vice versa. This realization made him become a picky person.

While Youichi was waiting for the light to cross the road, he saw a short man chating with the two girls. The man handed out a name card to them, and then the girls followed him. Youichi had a gut feeling that that man was doing what he planned to do. There was no way he would allow someone to steal his target.

No way!

–

– – – – – –

–

An elegant lady with blue wavy hair was drinking a glass of water quietly. Nobara was once worried that Natsume would not meet her, because she made an invitation in a rush yesterday. Natsume knocked on the door before he went into the room to receive his guest. When Nobara saw him entering, she greeted him, "Good morning, Natsume-kun. I am glad that you have time to meet me."

Natsume sat down, glancing at the lady opposite to his seat, "Do you want any drink?"

"Water is fine," replied Nobara courteously.

Nobara appeared to be very shy, she was indeed a strong-minded person. She would do her best to care for those important to her. She was Natsume's fellow student in college, and they worked together to organize Hyuuga Dad's concerts. That was why sincere greetings were heard from Natsume, "So, how are you?"

Nobara responded wearily, "Not so good. Those everlasting scandals were frustrating."

"I bet you should've known the entertainment industry is like this?" Natsume disliked those relentless journalists as well.

"Of course I know. Countless artistes have been destroyed by the reporters' 'cursing pens'," Nobara frowned. Then she moved on, "I won't come here without a reason. I believe you are smart enough to know why I come to meet you."

"Sakura Mikan!" Natsume's alluring voice said the two words sonorously. There was a flash of unnoticeable gentleness in his unfathomable crimson eyes.

"Yes," Nobara nodded. "Her contract with the Boom Limited will end this year. I would like to ask if you are interested to let her join your company as a singer."

It was as expected.

Nobara continued, "Actually, not just contractual singer, I would be grateful if you can be her manager as well."

This request was unanticipated.

"Manager? Why?" Natsume hid his surprise well in his collected tone.

"Frankly speaking, the drop in her popularity was worrying. Mikan is a talented singer, she can achieve more than what she did."

"I'm sure you have ways to get through the hard time," Natsume did not believe that Nobara would give up so easily.

"I want to help, but I can't," Nobara shook her head. She stopped a while and said, "I'm getting married. I'll go to France with Persona, and I have no idea when I will come back."

"Congratulations!" Natsume calmly commented. He concealed his delight and astonishment effectively again.

"Thank you!" Nobara then diverted the conversation back to Mikan, "Here is the information about Mikan." She put some documents and CDs on the desk, and passed them to Natsume. She did not forget to promote Mikan, "When I first heard Mikan in a singing contest, I had a feeling that she was born to be a singer. I am sure you are the perfect person to reach success with her."

Natsume took a brief look at the documents and CDs. He remained silent, as usual. However, his silence was intimidating to those who were trying to impress him. Nobara admitted with a slight trace of timidity, "To be honest, I don't think those CDs reflect Mikan's ability fully. There was limited flexibility and control over her music production in the Boom Limited. That time, I was a bit too impatient to sign a contract with a music company for Mikan."

Newcomers rarely had stance to have their opinions accepted. The company would dominate the decision making process, and the details in the contract would be more favorable to the company than the artiste. It was because the company had to make a riskily huge investment on new stars, in return, they wanted to maximize their authority and shares of any gains whenever possible.

"Your decision was understandable. It's difficult for a new solo singer to have a firm fans' support before finding music companies," Natsume remarked. The more popular the artiste was, the greater the bargaining power. Only until recently, some music companies re-held singing contests again. For Mikan's situation, Natsume believed that the company just did not know how to explore and market her talents.

Nobara kept persuading, "Mikan can sing really well. If you want, I can ask her to sing a live for you, so that you can make the decision."

"No need," he knew how well she could sing.

Nobara thought that his negative answer implied rejection. She felt discouraged but she did not give up her persuasion, "Natsume-kun, I… Mikan is a sister to me… I…" Nobara regained her composure and said determinedly, "Please at least give Mikan a chance."

Natsume realized his previous answer was misunderstood, so he said, "Tono should be free now; you can draft the contract with him."

Nobara's eyes were wide-open.

"This is a wedding gift from me," said Natsume with the edges of his lips vaguely curved upwards.

Nobara nodded, uttered a number of thanks gratefully, and left the room. Natsume gathered the documents and CDs from the desk. He did not need to read or hear those at all. For the past four years, the name "Sakura Mikan" secured a place in his mind and heart. The two of them did not have any chance to work together before. They knew the existence of the other, but they did not know each other. Maybe Cupid was getting impatient? It was time for them to get together.

–

– – – – – –

–

– _The Metropolitan Club of the Tokyo City_ –

–

Hotaru was sitting on a sofa near the reception. She came to the same place the day before as she followed her golden statue. Sadly, she could not meet her then.

That time, when Hotaru stepped out of the elevator, all she could see was a splendid floor with luxurious decorations everywhere: gigantic Murano crystal roof lights and crystal chandeliers on the ceiling, gold gilding on the walls, freshly cut flowers in crystal vases etc. Everything, including all tiny decorative accessories and jewelry embroideries, was there to stimulate patrons' senses by sheer opulence and beauty.

She had heard that this club was a brothel disguised as a "host / hostess club". It also had high membership requirements: it only accepted people with high social status. Hotaru walked to the reception and asked about the tall blonde lady who came before her.

"Oh! You are talking about Ruu-chan, aren't you? He is one of our most beloved hostesses here," a young receptionist replied eagerly.

Wait a minute… "He"? "Hostess"?

"Did you say that the hostess is a 'he'?" Hotaru asked slowly and calmly.

"Oh…" The receptionist realized she had said something wrong, she immediately tried to cover up, "No! It's a 'she'; you've misheard my words…"

Hotaru narrowed her eyes, and glared at the receptionist wordlessly. Though Hotaru did not have Basilisk's eyes, the receptionist found herself petrified under Hotaru's cryptic gaze. She felt that she was an open book in front of Hotaru. She swallowed some saliva into her stomach and stammered quietly to Hotaru's ears, "Em… actually… Ruu-chan is a 'he'… but it's the club's secret, so please don't spread it… okay?"

Looking at the receptionist's pleading eyes, Hotaru spoke apathetically, "I want Ruu-chan to be my hostess."

"Em… Our hostesses serve members only and the club does not accept… new… members… easily……" the receptionist said this line with a descending volume of voice, because she saw a creepy smile appearing on Hotaru's face. Her sixth sense told her that the poker-face was the patron's "normal" expression; hence the horror that smirk gave was too awful for words.

After seconds of silence, the judicious receptionist decided to surrender, "May I ask you to fill in the form please, Miss?"

It turned out Ruu-chan was fully booked that day. The earliest time she, no, he was available was from 8pm to 8:30pm the following day. Therefore, Hotaru was waiting for him on the sofa now. She could not tell that the golden statue was a male, not at all. A beautiful lady-like man, wao, no doubt he had so many gold pieces sticking on him.

–

– – – – – –

–

While one female Hyuuga was waiting for someone somewhere, another female member had her eyes glued to the television. She was watching "The Road to Superstar".

The show was jointly organized by a television broadcast company and a music company, the Melodious Music Group. It was a singing competition opened to the general public, and the champion would gain a singer contract with the music company. This kind of contest had not been hold in Japan for the past ten years; as a result, there were lots of people joining the competition, and the show achieved top TV ratings.

Being part of the rival company, Misaki paid close attention to this show. Until the present moment, none of the participants aroused her interest. The show started off with tournaments among the contestants. But this day, in order to further boost the TV show rating, the broadcast company introduced new "challengers" to confront the remaining participants. It was when a soulful male voice from a "challenger" penetrated deeply into her heart.

The voice came from a young man with a tattoo under his left eye. Misaki had a feeling that someone else would be interested in recruiting him too, so she had to act fast.

–

– – – – – –

–

_"Night is a world lit by itself."_ It was realistic quotation for cities like Tokyo, thus, not only the Hyuugas were enjoying the night.

Inside a high-class private club, several fashionable youngsters were having an intense competition inside a Billiard room. The tall handsome man who was leaning against a pool table right now was the male lead of the recent scandal, Nendo Ryoga.

Ryoga was wearing a worn leather jacket, dark jeans and short leather boots to highlight his good body shape. Together with his ruffled hair and angular face, he was a stylish masculine man. Sakura Mikan was sitting quietly on the side, as if she was out of place among the others. She had two lowly-tied pigtails that hung down grazing her chest. Even without any make-up or classy clothes, she still looked appealing.

"Yes! Bravo!" Ryoga cheered and held his fists as he won the match with ease.

Mikan immediately gave him a round of applause and an adorable smile. Ryoga put aside the cue stick and sat next to her. He laid his hand on her shoulder possessively, looking very pleased with himself.

"Ryoga, I want to go home now, it's getting late," Mikan pulled Ryoga's jacket lightly and asked in a low voice.

It was 11pm, Ryoga agreed reluctantly, "Okay, I will go home with you." Maybe he could stay at her home as well. He felt better with such a thought.

Mikan took her jacket and left the place with Ryoga. They should not meet each other for the time being, as the media were still extremely curious about their love affair. If the reporters took photographs showing they were together and wrote stories about them, it could be disastrous.

However, Ryoga did not care about those gossips. He considered himself being at the height of his eminence as a pop star, and he would not be affected by those silly scandals. Therefore, he had no intention to avoid dating. Mikan had no choice but keep Nobara in the dark to meet Ryoga.

Ryoga stood behind the main entrance, carefully fix the jacket for Mikan. Mikan lifted up her head and said, "I think we shouldn't meet each other temporarily."

The answer Ryoga gave Mikan was a kiss on her lips. Whenever Ryoga heard something that did not follow his will, he would either walk away or close her mouth with his. Mikan made a sigh in her heart.

Ryoga opened the front door as he said, "I'll go to see if the car has come, wait for me here," Ryoga was about to leave when he spotted three journalists standing not afar.

"Shzt! There were reporters! Get back into the building and leave via its backdoor! I'll block them!"

Mikan's face became pale once she heard the word 'reporters'. She quickly put on her super-thick black glasses as a disguise, and fled into the building. She could faintly hear some conversations behind and some pursuing footsteps.

Oh no! If she got pulled up with, she did not know how to explain to the media or to Nobara.

She sped up to her greatest extent, pushed open the back door forcefully, and ran on the alley towards the main street for her life. She was several feet away from the end of the quiet lane when a manly figure suddenly stepped forward to block her way. The happening was so abrupt that she could not react at all; she simply crushed into the man's embrace.

Mikan steadied herself to take a look at the person who stopped her. She saw a pair of familiar enigmatic ruby eyes. Before her mind could even function, the man pulled her towards him to wrap her inside his coat. He whispered into her ears, "Don't move." Mikan's heart felt an instant centrifugal force when she heard his voice.

He guided their bodies to make a right angle turn, and then rested his head near her shoulder. Within the strong arms of the man, Mikan could smell a fragrance of male perfume mixed with alcohol. This combination was surprisingly soothing. Apart from feeling warm and safe, her ears were ringing with loud heart-beating sounds.

–

* * *

_"This chapter was dedicated to myself – a pathetic writer  
who updates when no one is reviewing =v=" _

I was about to use this dedication at the beginning of the chapter,  
but luckily, I saw a new review before I undate... Thank you **chrisca123456789**!!

It took 7000+ words to have everything set and all characters in play…

**Please stop by and leave a review!**


	4. Chapter 04

I did not own Gakuen Alice

Warning: characters may be slightly OOC

* * *

**Superstars**

**Chapter 4**

_This chapter was dedicated to **Relatively Abstract** & **Lanel**.__  
Your reviews made my day!!__!_

* * *

–

Mikan had a feeling that she would hate to leave this man's cuddle. The warmth, the smell, the closeness to his chest… everything was just so good. She felt exceptionally secure and relaxed in this pair of arms. She could not understand why she had these sentiments. She met this man just now, didn't she? But then she was comfortable enough to trust him? It did not make any sense.

Suddenly, a loud door-opening sound was heard from behind. Few reporters rushed out of the building. They darted a glance at a hugging couple, and then continued their pursuit to the main street. The man did not let go of Mikan until he did not see a trace of reporters anymore.

"They've gone," said the man leisurely as he released Mikan.

So the man was helping her. No doubt she felt that she was well-protected in his arms. Without knowing why, she began to miss the feeling of safety provided by his warm chest.

"Thank you." The words came out from Mikan's mouth softly. She was too shy to look at her savior.

"Sakura-san, are you on your own?" A deep charming voice rang above her head.

"You recognize me?" She was very shocked.

She quickly lifted up her head, but she was dazed again. It was beyond her expectation that the man was incredibly handsome. Every facial feature was very good-looking, and their combination formed a perfect appearance. She felt strangely familiar with that pair of heavy-lidded crimson eyes, which one would get lost in them. She was pretty sure that she did not know this man, but why did she have some blurred reminiscences?

"Who will not know the hottest girl next door?" The man asked calmly, trying not to sound too sarcastic.

There was no way would Mikan fail to realize that the man was not truthful with his words. She replied mirthlessly, "That's too flattering." The good first impression of the man vanished completely.

"Let me give you a ride home." The man offered politely, his eyes glinting with passion.

"No thanks! We don't know each other. I don't want to bother you," Mikan shook her head. She had got the common sense not to follow strangers.

"Have you heard of the Hyuuga Entertainment Limited?" asked the man suddenly.

Mikan nodded. Of course she did. She might be signing a contract with that company.

"I was a staff working for the Hyuugas," said the man casually. "I can't leave 'Princess Mikan' alone at this hour. You may come across the reporters again."

"Princess Mikan" was one of the nicknames her fans used. The way this man emphasized the name gave Mikan an uneasy feeling. Though the man sounded frivolous, it was true that Mikan did not want to encounter journalists again.

"My car is right there." The man pointed at a place near by. Then, he started walking towards the car, being confident that she would follow him soon. Indeed, Mikan did so after hesitating for half a second.

Mercedes-Benz, outfits of luxury brands, striking appearance and extraordinary poise were the things Mikan saw under the bright lights of the main street. She was not dense enough to believe that he was just an unimportant staff.

She stealthily sized him up throughout the ride. Maybe she should at least know his name.

"Who are you?"

"Hyuuga Natsume." Natsume was absorbed in his driving. He did not even look at Mikan.

"What?! You…" Mikan exclaimed.

Her slim hand pointed bluntly at the driver, the man who was famous for his look, affluence, aptitude and charm. Mikan agreed that he did look very attractive. His wealth and capability should be beyond a shadow of a doubt too. Regarding his charisma, to be honest, no one could take their eyes off him. People would even be tempted to seek his attention. However, his attitudes were not meant to receive compliments. Well, he was not rude, but he was not friendly either. His self-assured way of talking, his cool civility and manner, as well as the underlying irony in his words all made him unapproachable.

After knowing his identity, all her instincts told her to be careful with her words. This man was someone no one could afford to offend. She should try her very best to stay away from dangers. Mikan lowered her hand, put a smile on her face deliberately, and exchanged pleasantries, "How lucky I am to meet you."

Though speaking out words was straightforward, talking against conscience was not easy, especially for Mikan who was only in kindergarten level in hypocrisy. She was terribly unsuccessful in hiding her insincerity. Her tone and her stiff smile betrayed her.

Natsume chuckled in his heart, and appeared as if he could not realize her pretense. He was wrapped up in his mind.

It was never a sheer coincidence for him to meet her like this.

After meeting Nobara, his mind was preoccupied with Mikan's appearance and voice. When he was heading home after work, he unwittingly found his way to the district where Mikan lived. He could not believe he did such things. He could never let his siblings know about this, or else they would make fun of him, and keep raking up this event years and years later.

He was about to leave the area when he saw an amber-hair girl with thick black glasses, walking cautiously on the street. He realized she was Mikan at first sight. The girl kept looking around suspiciously before she finally caught a cab and left. Curiosity and anxiety caused Natsume to follow her. Maybe she was attending her friends' gathering? Maybe she was meeting her hypothetical boyfriend? Maybe she was really dating that Nendo Ryoga?

These thoughts pissed him off. Was he annoyed by the possibility that the rumor was real? Or was he upset by the mere fact that she might have a boyfriend? Whatever reason it was, he ended up waiting outside the private club. His location allowed a good view of the front and back door. What was the point of waiting? He did not know himself. He just wanted to see her safe and sound, and "alone" again. His worries heightened when he saw some reporters waiting outside the front door. He got out of his car, praying that nothing would go wrong.

But his prayer was not answered. He vaguely saw Mikan and a man standing behind the front door, and then the man opened it. The reporters' eyes shone once they saw their prey. Luckily, Mikan made a correct decision to escape. Few reporters ran into the building to chase after her. Natsume guessed that Mikan would leave via the back door, so he waited for her at the end of the alley. There she was, bumped into his arms, and eventually sat in his car.

"Why were you in the building?" Natsume asked despite knowing part of the answers.

"I… I have a gathering with… my friends." Mikan replied evasively with diffidence.

Natsume held back his threatening tone and stated slowly, word by word, "You aren't dating Nendo Ryoga, are you?" He stole a glance at her at the end of his question.

Feelings of uneasiness flooded over Mikan. "This is my own business. I don't think I need to answer you." She intentionally turned her head to look at the scenery outside the car.

Her answer meant a yes to Natsume. In fact, though not very clear, he did see that man kissing her before he came out of the building. He had a wild wish that he could hear her denial, but now his fancy had gone.

"During such a panic-stricken and sensitive time, you still took the risk to meet him? You don't want to stay in the industry, do you?" Natsume mocked.

Mikan turned around at once to glare at Natsume. She was very agitated and held her fists tightly, "I... I am a singer. My fans like me for my singing. No matter who I am dating, they... they will support me." Recent stresses had really tightened Mikan's nerves.

Natsume pointed out nonchalantly, "It's because they like you, they won't accept your love affair easily. Fans are possessive with their idols." He added derisively, "You think they like you as a singer, not an idol, don't you?"

Mikan was reduced to silence. She did not want to admit these, so she insisted, "I am a singer. I believe it just takes some time for fans to accept…" She found her words lacked cogency as she talked.

"Don't you know love affairs are dreads for artistes? Lots of people disappeared from sight in this industry because of those." Natsume hoped that he could awaken her. "If you want to tread their paths, go ahead to admit your relationship publicly."

Mikan certainly knew about the seriousness of this matter. She understood the game rules in the industry. Yet, she was still not too willing to reconcile herself to these inhumane expectations, "I am just an artiste. I am not a saint. Why can't I date someone I like?"

Without sympathy, Natsume commented coolly, "You should be conscious of what you have to forgo when you began your career."

"I... I simply love singing. I've never thought to become an idol." Mikan protested pitifully.

"The more you get, the more you give." Natsume stated the fact indifferently.

Mikan fixed her eyes on Natsume. His grave and stern face showed persistence and sturdiness. Was he a pragmatic and ruthless person who cared for nothing but success?

"Is that the reason why the Hyuugas' company succeeded?" Mikan blurted out scornfully. "Are you so down-to-earth and unfeeling to your company's artistes?"

Natsume did not expect a meek "Princess Mikan" would venture such opinions. Her criticism amazed him.

"The harsh reality makes one heartless." Natsume did not admit nor deny. His low-pitched voice leaked out slight helplessness.

Mikan was startled that she had made an indiscreet remark. She apologized with composure, "I am sorry. I don't mean to be offensive."

How could she engage in a verbal battle with a man whom she met for the first time? She even disapproved the dignified Hyuuga. What if they had to work together in the future? Mikan had no idea why she would lose her temper in front of this man.

Natsume never cared about how others think of him. Yet, he took Mikan's despise and misunderstanding to his heart. The relations between the manager and the artiste should be harmonious. The difference in their perspectives and thoughts would lead to more conflicts someday.

Furthermore, her hostility to him was hurting. She would not behave like this in front of Ryoga, would she?

He saw them kissing.

He felt an urge to hit the steering wheel with all his might. He had to restrain himself because he was not alone in the car.

None of them made a sound for the rest of the trip.

–

– – – – – –

–

Early in the morning, Hotaru was eating breakfast in the Hyuuga's mansion. She looked refreshed. She was looking forward to night time again, as she expected to see something new this time. Koko entered the dining room, his weary look was scary.

"Did you sleep yesterday?" Hotaru asked curiously.

"Well, yeah." Koko gave a wry smile. He did fall asleep, but the quality of sleep was terrible.

How could he sleep well after Sumire declared war?

_"I came back to Japan to take back what I deserve"_

He literally fell onto the floor from his seat when he heard that line. He recognized that her challenge aimed at him. He was traumatized by her speech. He thought she might have forgotten him after these years. It turned out she still bore in mind the words she told him before she left. Well, he should know her better than any one else. How would she, the courageous resolute girl whom he had known for years, fail to remember her vow and hatred towards him?

_"Okay! I'll go, as you wish!"_

_"But take my words, I'll definitely come back! I'll take back what I deserve!"_

_"I'll make you regret doing this! You'll find it too late to repent!"_

He was meeting her today, after three years of separation. How should he behave when he faced her? He heaved a sigh of vulnerability. Hotaru knew what Koko was troubling with, she believed that keeping quiet would be good for him. It was Koko who broke the peace.

"Where're Misaki, Natsume and Youichi?"

"Misaki and Youichi went out to find detectives," replied Hotaru idly. Both of them looked so enthusiastic just now, they rapidly finished the breakfast and left the house before Koko showed up. They had probably found something that fascinated them.

"As for Natsume…" Hotaru sluggishly tilted her head upward. Koko turned his head, and saw his elder brother coming into the room. Oh my, he had a murderous look.

Normally, Natsume had a face that was free of emotions. Something must have gone wrong, in fact very wrong, in order to induce such an irritated look on him. He might not look different in outsider's eyes. But having lived with him for more than twenty years, Hotaru and Koko were aware of his concealed anger.

"Huh, interesting." They thought to themselves.

If one wanted to stay alive, it would be wise not to disturb a bomb. Therefore, the two of them tacitly ate their meals without saying anything.

–

– – – – – –

–

Nobara and Mikan arrived at the Hyuuga Entertainment Limited.

Across the conference bench, Natsume appraised Mikan attentively. This was their first official meeting in four years. On the night before, Mikan's disguise plus the dim lights, Natsume did not have a chance to take a good look of her.

Today, Mikan obviously dressed up. A creamy floral lace blouse, a taupe silk twill full skirt and a pair of ivory high heels on her 5'5" stature created a tenuous slender image.

Her shiny amber hair was long enough to reach her waist. Unlike four years ago, the slightly curved tips on the hair were being straightened. Together with her flawless face, she looked very young and innocent. She was like a goddess exquisitely created to lure people's hearts. Such an unmatched beauty attracted attention easily. No wonder her current company chose to market her appearance.

Being a pampered princess, she unavoidably had a tendency to be willful. This could be seen by her reckless attempt to meet her lover. Natsume thought he had to deal with the matter seriously.

"Mikan, he is Hyuuga Natsume-san, your prospective manager."

While Nobara was introducing Natsume to Mikan, Mikan politely nodded her head to greet Natsume. His sharp eyes captured the shock that sparked in Mikan's eyes. Mikan had heard that she would be joining the Hyuugas and have a new manager, but she did not know that Natsume would be the one. She felt embarrassed as she remembered how they ended up in silence less than twelve hours ago.

"Not yet, we won't sign the temporary contract until next week." Natsume averted his gaze from Mikan to Nobara's doubtful eyes.

Nobara sensed some dangerous signals. "Natsume-kun, you won't break your promise, will you?" Nobara's eyes were fixed on Natsume. She had no idea what Natsume was thinking about.

Mikan looked at Nobara with a puzzled face. She did not expect Nobara to know Natsume well enough to call him by his name.

"Before signing the contract, I want to be well-informed of one thing." Natsume stared at Mikan solemnly and spoke slowly, "Sakura-san did not answer my question yesterday night. I hope you can answer me honestly now."

Mikan's heart sank, and her face fell. He was not going to let her off lightly.

"You met each other yesterday?" Nobara raised her eyebrows slightly. She was smart enough to make some plausible speculation.

Natsume further elaborated, "Not only we met. I drove Sakura-san home."

Nobara sudenly realized what could have happened. She started feeling headache, "Mikan, did you go to see Nendo Ryoga-san again?"

"I am sorry," Mikan bit her lips.

Natsume took advantage of the present situation and inquired, "Sakura-san, are you dating Nendo Ryoga?"

This time Mikan did not evade his question.

"Yes." She looked into Natsume's eyes while answering.

Watching her big amber eyes, Natsume could feel her tranquility and determination. He found it appealing, and at the same time heartbreaking.

"How much do you love him?" Natsume went deeper. It was impossible to interpret his facial expression.

Mikan was unprepared for such a straightforward question. Her face turned red, and her eyes fled to Nobara, sending out SOS signals.

"Natsume-kun," Nobara had somewhat deduced his motives. She asked directly, "What do you want?"

"That's simple. I request Sakura-san to break up with Nendo Ryoga," said Natsume flatly.

Nobara had guessed it accurately. She knew that based on his valiant practices, Natsume would eliminate any unfavorable factors at all costs.

Mikan was bewildered. Who was he to make such an unreasonable demand?

Natsume continued to sound callous, "Prior to signing the contract, Sakura-san and Nendo-san had to part company. Otherwise, I'm not confident to take up her manager's job. Please find someone better qualified."

–

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**Please review! I appreciate feedback & suggestions!**

to **DappleSora**: Thanks for reviewing! I was once a lazy reader too, so I actually understand, writing is not for reviews, but reviews do give writers' confidence, hahaa… the story will continue as long as I can feel the enjoyment of writing

to **sapphireangel09**: I've removed the confusing parts, maybe it's better now? Thanks for your opinion!

to **Relatively Abstract**: (I'm not going to retype my PM here =P) I'm trying to put the characters' name as early as possible in each session, hope it'll be better. Thanks again for your suggestion & support!!

to **Lanel**: (I'm not going to retype my PM here =P) I've corrected the summary, thanks again for your rocking review!!

**Please review!**


	5. Chapter 05

I did not own Gakuen Alice

Warning: characters may be slightly OOC

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**Superstars**

**Chapter 5**

_This chapter was dedicated to **Lanel **&** Relatively Abstract**,  
Thanks for your heart-warming reviews again!_

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–

_"Prior to signing the contract, Sakura-san and Nendo-san had to part company."_

_"Otherwise, please find someone better qualified."_

Natsume successfully stunned the two ladies with these words.

"Natsume-kun…" Nobara had never imagined he would _really_ make this move, i.e. to "threaten" them

"That's all I have to say. Please give me a reply after you've made the decision." Natsume resolutely stood up and saw a pair of furious watery eyes from Mikan. Leaving the disturbed Nobara and the displeased Mikan, Natsume left the room.

"Nobara-san, Hyuuga-san and I do not get along well. We'd better find another manager!" Mikan declared plainly that she would not give way to Natsume's threats.

Nobara noticed that Mikan and Natsume were somehow hostile to each other. What the earth happened to him the night before? Finding a new manage was a must, and Natsume was the best choice. Nobara would not give up easily.

"You go home with Anna first. I'll contact you later." Nobara did not express her opinions for now. She went straight to Natsume's office.

Natsume sat on his chair comfortably, expecting her complaints. Nobara got to the point directly, "Don't you think you're too strict?"

"I have no other options. I don't want to be harsh on her, but she lacks awareness." Natsume was obviously talking about Mikan's secret date with her boyfriend yesterday night, and her wrong-headedness.

"She's still young and inexperienced." Nobara loved Mikan dearly.

"You know about my principals. There's no room for discussion." Natsume understood that Nobara wanted to shield Mikan. However, prolonged protection inside an artificial greenhouse was not good for an artiste. The industry was never a peaceful one. One had to grow up and learn how to survive there.

"You understand why those gossips are bad for her, don't you?" Natsume said monotonously. "She was marketed as an idol, not a singer. People knew her for her looks, not her voice. Her fans stemmed from her lovable and truthful image."

Nobara sighed at the fact.

Natsume went on, "Having a boyfriend may not be a problem for some artistes. But that's not her case. First, her partner is a lady-killer. Do you remember how hostile his fans are towards his ex-girlfriends?"

Nobara could say nothing but moaned.

"Second, if their relationship is publicized, no one knows how the media is going to portray her. But I bet it'll be against her existing icon. Images are changeable, but transformation should be made before any harmful reputation came about. As you know, prejudice is lethal for artistes. Once the public has certain negative perspectives, not many people are open-minded enough to give the artiste a chance to impress them."

It was rare that Natsume talked that much. Maybe he was justifying himself to convince Nobara that his decision was purely based on commercial consideration? Was there something else that affected him when he was making up his mind? Only he knew the answer.

Nobara knew she could not refute his points; she pleaded instead, "Can't you give her some more time?" Asking Mikan to break up with her boyfriend in a week was cruel.

"I won't put an instable bomb by my side. That's too dangerous." He was unwavering.

Though it was unlikely to succeed, Nobara still tried another approach to arouse his sympathy, "This is Mikan's first love. It's not easier said than done to give up. She may appear to be easygoing and obedient, but she is not a submissive girl. She has her own ideas and she won't parrot others' words."

"I know." He could sense Mikan was not a vulnerable person. She had her strong-willed side. "It's up to her to decide."

"You are so unfeeling," Nobara said half-jokingly. She knew she would never be able to persuade this willful man. She decided not to dwell on the issue with him, "I'll contact you later."

How come he kept being criticized as "unfeeling" recently? Natsume shook his head and continued with his work.

–

– – – – – –

–

Inside a conference room, the noises from the air-conditioning made a lonesome sonata. Koko was on his own waiting for his guests. Only fifteen more minutes to go, but time walked like a snail. It was torturing when one's mind replaying the past by itself.

Fourteen years ago, Koko had his fateful encounter with Sumire.

It took a total of seven years before they met each other again for the second time. That was a day he would never forget.

– _Flashback -_

_- 7 years ago _-

After meeting his clients, Koko straddled his scooter parked on the roadside. He was about to pull on his helmet when he heard some quarrels in a dark alley. He curiously followed the sound, and saw several stylish adolescent girls surrounding a short-hair teenaged girl, who had peculiar curvy elongated hair dripping in front of both ears.

Wait, that hairstyle looked very familiar.

Koko was astounded, "She can't be in Tokyo, can she?" He longed to see her for years. That time he felt so disappointed when he knew that she had moved away from the place where they first met. She was indeed living in Tokyo, the same city as he was? Was life a bit too harsh and unfair to him?

He could not help remembering her words.

_"Life is never fair."_

The group of girls seemed to be threatening the short-hair girl, who refused to succumb. Then, they started fighting. At first, the short-hair girl got the upper hand; however, she was at a disadvantage as she was hopelessly outnumbered.

Koko hurriedly shouted, "Hey, policemen, there was a fight over there!"

The girls stopped at once and rapidly escaped to the other end of the lane. Having her hands on the wall, the short-hair girl stood up painfully.

"Are you okay?" Koko offered a helping hand to her without the least hesitation.

Nevertheless, the girl took no notice of his aid, "Mind your own business! Don't think that I will thank you!"

It was not uncommon to get no thanks for one's good intentions. Koko could not stifle a laugh when he saw the girl limping along. Her stubbornness seemed to increase with age. Yet, Koko would not let her go easily this time, he ran to her front to stop her, "Hey, you've twisted your ankle!"

The pig-headed girl was unwilling to accept his aid. She gave him a ferocious glare instead, "Get out of my way! It's none of my business!"

Koko lost his mind for few seconds in the girl's eyes. Those pair of unforgettable dazzling eyes that revealed her adamant nature could light up everything in dark. Koko's heart was palpitating with ecstasy.

It was natural that she did not recognize him. It had been seven years, through which he had changed a lot. He was no longer the self-abased boy who looked dull and miserable all the time. Now, he always wore a smile and was well-liked as a light-hearted guy. As for the girl, she had become even more beautiful. Her facial features were delicately craved to attain perfectness. Koko could not take his eyes off her anymore.

When he collected himself, an idea popped up. He swiftly took the girl up in his arms and looked at her attentively, "A gentleman can't be heedless of an injured lady."

"Who cares if you are a gentleman or a barbarian? Put me down right now!" The girl yelled and struggled angrily.

Koko disregarded her over-reaction. He strode forward to his scooter, and made her sit on the rear seat. "I'll give you a ride home." He gave the suggestion enthusiastically. This time, he would definitely get more information about her.

The girl glanced at Koko annoyingly. Just then, she could not see the guy clearly under the dim lights. Now, she could thoroughly take a look at him. He was an imposing figure. His lips had their corners curled up, and his eyes sparkled with shrewdness. His smiling face seemed to have caused tiny ripples in the innermost part of her mind.

The previous anger and loatheness gradually faded away. She did not dislike him as much anymore; how could one hate a smiley person? She even had a sudden impulse to play around with him, "I don't have a home." She slowed down her tone, with her eyes glistening with slyness.

Koko sensed that she was prompting him to suggest something. He compressed his lips into a smile, "Go to my place then?"

"Sure." She agreed easily.

Koko did not say anything. He carefully helped her to pull on the helmet, and put her arms around his waist. He remembered to turn around and remind her, "Hold tight."

Without any bashfulness, the girl clutched his waist, and leaned against his back.

All she wanted now was to escape from reality. Though that would only last for few moments, she just wanted to rest her mind.

Feeling the soft body behind, Koko became stiff. Her trust and dependence of him gave him a feeling of fulfillment and an unfamiliar sensation in his chest.

"So you come from a rich family!" The girl was awed at the huge house, as Koko carried her inside. Koko's place was of course the Hyuuga's mansion. Bringing a young lady home at midnight attracted servant's attention unquestionably.

"Naku-san, please prepare a guest room for this lady. Please bring me a first-aid kit too," Koko told the butler.

"Did you hurt yourself, young master? Is it serious?" asked the butler worriedly.

"No. This lady has twisted her ankle," Koko explained patiently.

Naku-san felt relieved at once. He peeped at the girl for a while, and then left, "I'll go to prepare the room now." He said to himself, "Among the boys, I've never guessed that Koko will be the first one to bring a girl home."

Koko smiled wryly. He knew that he would see lots of querying eyes the next day. He talked to the girl, "Let me treat your wound first."

"Are a medical student?" He looked a bit older than she was. Maybe he was studying at college?

"No," replied Koko as he brought her to the guest room.

"Thanks for your kindness, but you don't need to help me." She rejected him politely.

"Don't look down on me. First aid can't beat me." He spoke confidently.

Koko put the girl on the edge of the bed and winked at her playfully, "I'll be here shortly."

"What a strange guy!" The girl made a face behind his back. Well, she was a strange girl too. How daring she was to follow a stranger to his home! She could not be blamed, as she was somewhat homeless now. Her home did not welcome her. The warm loving family was gone long time ago. She might as well take this chance to turn into a rebellious bad girl.

It did not take long for Koko to return with a first-aid kit in hand. The girl did not feel like taking notice at him. She focused on combing her hair. Koko found a chair to sit in front of her. He gently held her chin up to examine her face.

"It's lucky that the wounds are not serious to damage this pretty face," he murmured. He did not know he was comforting the girl or himself. He applied some ointments on the bruise, followed by catering her wounded ankle.

Putting her delicate leg on his knees, Koko rubbed her reddened wound carefully with medicinal lotion. The girl instantaneously felt an electric shock from his massage. She withdrew her leg by reflex, but Koko caught hold of her faster.

"Let go of me! It… It hurts!" The girl embarrassedly found excuses to get away.

"I'm sorry. I'll be gentler." Koko gave her a mysterious bright smile.

The girl's cheeks glowed reddish. The thrilling sensation spread through her body.

He did that on purpose! This cunning guy deliberately performed such lecherous act to make her suffer from arryhythmia. She could hear her heart beating like mad.

There was no need for Koko to treat her wounds by himself. Yet, he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. He yearned for looking after her, doting on her. It felt so good in his hands that he hated to let go.

The long torture ended eventually. The girl heaved a sigh of relief. Koko chuckled in his heart as he sensed her embarrassment.

"Take a good rest." Koko patted her head lightly, after he tidied up the first-aid kit.

"You're leaving now?" The girl's eyes sparkled with unusual radiance.

"Or you want me to stay here?" His eyes were smiling.

The girl changed her posture to kneel on the bed and put her arms around his neck in a loving way. She whispered seductively, "Not only you saved me, you let me stay at your house, and you treated my wounds warmheartedly. You did all this so that I have to repay you for your kindness. Am I right?"

Koko did not mind her throwing herself on him. He gazed at her with keen interest, "How are you going to repay me?"

"Isn't it natural if I offer my body to repay you?" She gave a charming smile and winked her innocent eyes while she was playing with his muddy blonde hair near his neck.

She was halve-joking and halve-serious. She partly wanted to indulge herself, and she would like to take a revenge on him for his previous salaciousness.

"What's your name?" He knew it but he wanted to hear her saying it again. This might serve as a distraction too.

"Sumire. Shouda Sumire." The girl answered agreeably.

Koko blew a whistle praising, "It's a beautiful name." He had always longed to tell her this. He continued, "How old are you?"

"Fifteen," Sumire nearly yawned. Kneeling was tiring for her knees and she could not maintain this pose for a long time.

"You're two years younger than me. If I do touch you, I'll break the law." He expressed his grief.

"What? You're afraid to have sex with girls under age? How lame!" She hastily pushed him away and grumbled. He was so anally attentive that she could not stand him. "You're so conservative! Don't you know that lots of girls of my age or even younger ones aren't virgins long ago?"

Sumire felt hurt, to a certain extent, because she failed to seduce him while he managed to hook her up.

How changeable her facial expression was! Koko suppressed his laughter and pretended to be shocked, "Nowadays, high-school students are so open-minded?"

"If you don't want, then shut up, old man!" Being rejected was a humiliation to her, especially when she had just resolved to be a playgirl.

"Okay then, _itadakimasu_!" Koko pressed Sumire on the bed.  
(Note: _itadakimasu_ is a Japanese phrase said before a meal, it means 'I humbly receive')

Sumire did not expect him to take the active role suddenly. She was half dead with fright. Koko found her flabbergasted expression amusing. He teasingly caressed her cheeks, as a mischievously charming smile appeared on his face. His strong physique on top of her made her lose her breath. She came within an inch of a heart failure under his playful stare.

"How many men did you have before me?" Koko intentionally blew air onto her red face to spread the fire.

"What?!" She could not believe he would ask such an awkward question.

Koko tilted his head to ponder, "I am not your first one, am I?" Derision was clearly heard from his tone.

In order to protect her dignity, she would never admit she had no experience, "Of course not! I've slept with countless number of men, how will I remember the exact number?"

"Oh! I never think you are so experienced!" He saw through her lies effortlessly.

Stay calm! Don't panic! She said with bated breath, "Of course."

"But why are you shaking?" He put on an innocent look.

Don't shake! Don't shiver! But her body was out of her control, so she could only deny loudly, "No, I'm not!"

"You look deathly pale." He pointed out the second flaw, appearing to be harmless, as usual.

"Don't forget I am injured! Of course I look pale!" She insisted not to concede.

She was really full of vigor. Her bravado was bizarre. Koko cracked a smile and decided not to make fun of her. He released her, sat upright, and reassured her, "I won't take advantage of a wounded person."

After hearing his words, Sumire was no longer on the defensive. Yet, her relaxation was accompanied with some kind of slight disappointment.

"Since you said you will use your body to repay me, I can use it at will, can't I?" Koko looked as if he was up to no good.

Sumire frowned at him, "Hey! I only promised to sleep one night with you! You can't be so greedy!!"

"Don't ever try to deny. You promise to repay me with your body." Koko kindly reminded her.

"You purposely distort my original meaning!" Sumire would not allow him to trick her.

"But you're injured now; it's not suitable for 'vigorous activity'," Koko glinted at her. "How about repaying me with another format?"

Sumire turned her nose at him, "I thought you're a gentleman. Turns out you're a bastard with ulterior motives!"

"I won't deny I have my motives when I bring you home," Koko admitted honestly. He wanted to know her better and hang around with her.

"Huh! Your mask's finally torn off!" Sumire despised him.

A wild thought came to Koko's mind, he changed the topic abruptly, "Do you have any dream? What do you want to be in the future?"

His questions were rather brusque and silly. Sumire's mind could not function right away. She narrowed her eyes, "Don't preach in front of me."

"If no, do you want to be a star?" He stated his intention.

Sumire waved her hand impatiently, "Do you want to cheat stupid young girls?"

"Do you want to be an artiste?" Koko persevered.

Sumire looked at him from left to right, "What a pity to have such a good-looking outer shell when you have mental problems."

"Don't waste your beautiful appearance. I guarantee you can become very popular." Koko pledged.

He was crazy.

Koko moved on with a serious expression, "Though the Hyuuga Entertainment Limited only established recently and our scale was incomparable with other huge corporations, I'll do my best to nurture you as the shiniest star."

Sumire finally realized he was not joking. He looked very excited and enthusiastic, as if he was talking about his life-goals. His driving ambition and determination made him become so blindingly bright that she could not even look at him anymore. She flagged and lowered her head, "I'm not interested."

Koko lightly lifted up her chin and stared at her with his keen eyes, "Since you don't have any ambition for the time being, why not entrust your life in my hands instead of idling away your time? Trust me; you won't lose your pool!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Eh?

It should be Sumire hesitating for a while and then agreed in the end. She even asked him to deal with her family on her behalf. There should be no such sound that time.

Ah! It was the door knocking sounds at present. Koko collected his thoughts. He was going to have a meeting with Sumire now. Koko sighed.

Who would have guessed that they would end up like this?

–

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**Please review!**

(Sigh) My original plan:  
_1. Not-too-long section for Natsume, Mikan & Nobara  
2. Not-too-short section for Youichi  
3. Not-too-short section for Koko  
4. Not-too-long section for Hotaru  
5. Not-too-long section for Misaki  
6. Not-too-long section for another meeting between Natsume & Mikan _

Obviously, I underestimated how long-winded I am... (sigh) I only finished 1 & 3, and it's already 3000+ words =v= (I plan to keep each chapter not more than 4000+ words =w=)  
In fact, I've written something about KokoxSumire's first meeting, but it'll be wayyyyyy too long if I put it here, so... it's an omake itself!!!!! YEAAAA!!!! The omake title is **DeAI **, please go ahead to read it!

Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed the chapter!

to **Lanal**: Other than what I've said in PM, I don't think I'll add more 'mysteries' to the story for the time being, I'm revealing things slowly instead. Thanks for your review again!

to **Relatively Abstract**: I won't repeat my PM again, but thanks again for your review! Here comes Koko x Sumire (finally), hope it's looking good!

to **OtakuShigatsuGalz7653**: Thanks for reviewing!! I hope you'll like this chapter too!

to **babee-angel**: Well, well, well, it's Natsume we are talking about, right? So, his motives are, hehee, (definitely) worth suspecting

**Please review!  
**(please let me know if there are mistakes, I am sure there are many...)


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